Frisch s Outreach Pass It On! Gr. 4-6

Transcription

1 Frisch s Outreach Pass It On! Gr. 4-6 At a glance All living things are interconnected to one another in the transfer and acquisition of food energy. Time requirement 45 mins. Group size and grades Group Size no more than 30 students Grade(s) - gr. 4-6 Goal This program will help students understand how food energy is transferred and acquired by living things within the environment. Objectives 1. Students will be able to name specific animal traits that enable animals to meet the challenges of obtaining food for survival. 2. Students will be able to name specific animal traits that enable animals to meet the challenge of survival so they do not become a food source. 3. Students will be able to gain an understanding of food relationships (acquiring energy) and the balance they bring to the natural world. 4. Students will be able to follow and explain the transfer of energy within a simple Food Web. 5. Students will be able to identify types of animal groups based on their food/energy consumption-herbivore, Carnivore, Omnivore, Scavenger-Decomposer or Producer, Primary Consumer, Secondary Consumer, Tertiary Consumer in relation to a simple Food Web. 6. Students will be able to give one example of how an animal s acquisition of food energy impacts its habitat and the environment. Theme Living things are interconnected with one another in the acquisition of food energy. Sub-themes 1. Energy is transferred through all living things during the acquisition of food. Title, Month Year Page 1 of 8

2 2. Animals are interconnected with plants and each other when acquiring food. 3. Animals impact their habitat and environment when they play out their role in the Food Web. 4. Animals possess identifiable traits/adaptations that allow them to survive in their quest for food. Title, Month Year Page 2 of 8

3 Academic standards Ohio College and Career Ready Standards-Science Grade 4 Strands LS Grade Band Theme: Interconnections within Systems Topic: Earth s Living History This topic focuses on using fossil evidence and living organisms to observe that suitable habitats depend upon a combination of biotic and abiotic factors. Content Statements Changes in an organism s environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful. -Ecosystems can change gradually or dramatically. When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce and others die or move to new locations. An animal s patterns of behavior are related to the environment. This includes the kinds and numbers of other organisms present, the availability of food and resources, and the physical attributes of the environment. Fossils can be compared to one another and to present-day organisms according to their similarities and differences. -The concept of biodiversity is expanded to include different classification schemes based upon shared internal and external characteristics of organisms -Most types of organisms that have lived on Earth no longer exist -Fossils provide a point of comparison between the types of organisms that lived long ago and those existing today. Grade 5 Strands- LS Topic: Interactions within Ecosystems This topic focuses on foundational knowledge of the structures and functions of ecosystems. Content Standards Organisms perform a variety of roles in an ecosystem. -Populations of organisms can be categorized by how they acquire energy. -Food webs can be used to identify the relationships among producers, consumers and decomposers in an ecosystem. Title, Month Year Page 3 of 8

4 All of the processes that take place within organisms require energy. -For ecosystems, the major source of energy is sunlight. -Energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is transferred and transformed by producers into energy that organisms use through the process of photosynthesis. That energy then passes from organism to organism as illustrated in food webs. -In most ecosystems, energy derived from the sun is transferred and transformed into energy that organisms use by the process of photosynthesis in plants and other photosynthetic organisms. Grade 6 Strands LS Grade Band Theme: Order and Organization Content Standards Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function. -The level of organization within organisms includes cells, tissues, organs, organ systems and whole organisms. -Whether the organism is single-celled or multicellular, all of its parts function as a whole to perform the tasks necessary for the survival of the organism. -Organisms have diverse body plans, symmetry and internal structures that contribute to their being able to survive in their environments. Kentucky Core Content Science Primary through Grade 4 Life Science Characteristics of an Organism SC-E Organisms & Their Environment SC-E Grades 5-7 Life Science Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms: SC-E Title, Month Year Page 4 of 8

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6 Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Background Our planet s energy comes directly from our Sun s chemical reactions. Hydrogen Elements collide and create Helium causing a chemical reaction within the Sun. Because of our distance from the Sun we receive only heat and light from that reaction. Producers (Autotrophs, plants) take in energy from the Sun during their food production (photosynthesis). The transfer of those nutrients (energy) at the different Trophic levels can be called the Food Web or Food Chain. Animals (Consumers, Herbivores) that eat plants or parts of plants (fruit, seeds) take in that energy stored in plants. Specific adaptations allow them to take and digest tough plant material successfully. Jaws that move in a rotating fashion and a specialized digestive system allow them as Primary Consumers to keep plant populations healthy (rarely do they eat the whole plant, while some only eat at specific times of the growing season). They can act as seed dispersers. These animals can then transfer energy by becoming a food source to be eaten by other animals (Secondary Consumers- Omnivores, Insectivores, Carnivores, Piscivores, Sanguivores) although they do possess specific adaptations that can enable them to escape. Keen senses, camouflage, mimicry, startle responses (Owl flashing their large eyes), mobbing(small birds attacking hawks), warning colors(poison Arrow Frogs), or stotting (Thompson Gazelles running, stopping, and jumping very high to tell Predators it will cost them a lot of energy to pursue them), can all keep Prey animals alive. Secondary Consumers can then become Prey for the Tertiary Consumers. Predators at this level are usually larger and are fewer in number. Any Predator that is not preyed upon by any other organism in its habitat is called the Apex Predator (Orca, Tiger, Crocodile, usually Humans). However, an Apex Predator could be displaced at the top level of Predation if it were placed in a different habitat. Predators at both the Secondary and Tertiary Levels possess adaptations such as keen senses, specialized teeth (for grabbing, cutting, tearing), claws, strong beaks, talons, etc. that allow them to hunt, grab, and consume Prey animals. Predation results in an energy gain but at the cost of the energy expenditure while getting the food. Most Predators choose Prey that is the largest they can obtain without too much risk of injury to themselves. When hunger is not an issue then Predators usually do not spend the energy (Sharks in tanks will not disturb smaller fish in close range). At times, satiation will decrease the probability that individual Prey animals will be eaten. When Prey animals numbers swell (as in periodical Cicada emergings) the Predators ability to consume and process the Prey falls off. Prey animals can then ensure that many offspring can survive. Conversely, when preferred Prey numbers are low Predators will switch to alternate food sources thereby, taking pressure off of the preferred Prey population allowing that population to recuperate their numbers. Low Prey animal numbers will also affect the Predator s rate of reproduction and survival. Title, Month Year Page 6 of 8

7 Some Predators will obtain their food by enlisting deceptive ambush (Sit and Wait Predator, Ambush Predator) to catch Prey. Others will actively hunt for Prey alone or in groups. Predators usually know the landscape of their habitat very well and can use landforms, etc. to their advantage. This is why protecting their territory is so vital. Some Predators may use the hunting style of sweeping up large amounts of their food (baleen whales, anteaters, pangolins). Smaller Predators may find larger Prey but only take part of them because of their bigger size. (Vampire Bats drink only the blood of their Prey) Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden becoming a food source themselves or by recycling the dead matter back into the soil thereby returning energy and nutrients so that plant life can flourish. The Food Web is replenished once again by the transfer of energy. All living things share in unique relationships that benefit their species long term survival and provide a natural balance in our world. Vocabulary Autotrophs-describes organisms, especially green plants, that are capable of making nutrients from inorganic materials Because of Predation, a natural balance in the number of Prey animals can exist. Many times very young, old, sick, diseased, or injured Prey animals are taken so that healthy robust individual animals can increase the chance of their species survival. When Prey animals reproduce quickly or in great numbers Predation can keep numbers at a healthy level. Prey animal populations will usually keep Predator population numbers in check. Healthy Prey animal numbers will keep the Predator population robust. Low Prey animal numbers will cause low numbers among Predators. A healthy balance between both populations will enable all species to survive. Unhealthy balances are created by changes to habitats or introduced species (either Predator or Prey). Both circumstances tax Predator and Prey species, sometimes to disastrous outcomes. Scavengers and Decomposers (both plant and animal) will complete the last transfer of energy between the Trophic levels. When either plant or animal life dies, scavengers and decomposers will either transfer energy back into the Food Web by Carnivore-flesh eating animal Consumer a person, plant, or animal that uses food or anything grown or made by producer Primary Consumer- an animal that eats green plants in the food chain or web Secondary Consumer- an animal that feeds on smaller plant eating animals in a food chain or web Tertiary Consumer- an animal that feeds on a secondary consumer in a food Decomposer something that causes matter to decay. Food Web food cycle. Frugivore- animal that feeds on fruit Keystone Species-a species whose addition to or loss from an ecosystem leads to major changes in abundance or occurrence of at least one other species Herbivore- an animal that feeds only or mainly on grass and other plants. Title, Month Year Page 7 of 8

8 Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Insectivore- animal that feeds on insects Omnivore- an animal that will feed on any type or many different types of food, including both plants and animals. Piscivore- fish eating animal Predator-an animal that hunts, kills, and eats other animals in order to survive, or any other organism that behaves in a similar manner Producer an animal or plant that grows or makes things that are used by others. Prey-an animal or animals caught, killed, and eaten by another animal as food Scavenger an animal that feeds on decaying matter. Sanguivore- any animal that feeds on blood Trophic-of or relating to nutrition Resources Broda, Herbert, Schoolyard Enhanced Learning:Using the Outdoors As An Instructional Tool, Stenhouse Publishers, Earth Expeditions cincinnatizoo, org/earth expeditions Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife kdfwr.state.ky.us/kfwis/speciesinfo/speciesi nfo.asp National Geographic Kids National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Schoolyard Habitats Program cfm Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources Project Dragonfly Project Feeder Watch www birds.cornell.edu/pfw/index.html (classroom data gathering) Project Wild Louv, Richard. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books, Sobel, David, Place Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities, Orion Society, 2004 Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Title, Month Year Page 8 of 8